Air Force

Luke IP selected for Thunderbird assignment

Capt. Jason Curtis, 308th Fighter Squadron instructor pilot, refuels over Kunar in Afghanistan during a deployment in 2010. Curtis recently was selected to join the Thunderbirds as the No. 6 opposing solo. It wasnâ€™t until after the deployment that he decided to tryout for the team.

The Thunderbirds are the U.S. Air Forceâ€™s premier air demonstration team; from the pilots to the maintainers, they represent the best the Air Force has to offer.

â€œI felt super stoked,â€ Curtis said. â€œIt will be an amazing opportunity to represent something that is much larger than me â€” the United States Air Force.â€

Being selected for the team is not only personal for Curtis, but he also looks at his selection as an opportunity to help teach people about the Air Force and its mission.

â€œI think this is a platform I can use to truly change peopleâ€™s lives for the better and educate them about how awesome Americaâ€™s Airmen are in defending the United States,â€ he said.

Capt. Jason Curtis

Curtis will be going into the spot of Thunderbird No. 6 opposing solo, one of the high visibility positions on the team.

â€œMy expectations going in are to stay humble and be ready to learn,â€ he said. â€œFortunately, I will be learning from two of the Air Forceâ€™s best pilots: Maj. J.R. Williams, current No. 5 lead solo, and Capt. Blaine Jones, current No. 6 opposing solo. They will take me through an intense upgrade program. Iâ€™ve heard that the opposing solo position presents some of the most aggressive and challenging flying the Air Force has to offer, so I will have my work cut out for me in the air.â€

Although Curtis is the one going to fill a spot on the team, he said he couldnâ€™t have done it by himself.

â€œHere at Luke, I am very lucky to be surrounded by the Emerald Knights of the 308th Fighter Squadron,â€ he said. â€œThe Knights are comprised of heroic pilots who have proved themselves in combat and amazing people who challenge me tactically every day. Iâ€™ve learned a lot about officership and being a fighter pilot from my Emerald Knight brethren. My success is a testament to the efforts of the Emerald Knights and the environment my squadron commander, Lt. Col. Chris Colcord, has created as we focused on our mission here at Luke.â€

The 308th has been very beneficial for Curtis and his selection. From his fellow pilots to the maintainers keeping the aircraft flying, he couldnâ€™t have done it without them, he said.

â€œThere is something special going on in the 308th right now, and an air of exemplary leadership throughout all ranks from the aircraft maintenance unit to the fighter squadron,â€ he said. â€œI really believe we have an all-star lineup in the Knights right now, from the commander and director of operations all the way to the squadron aviation resource managers.â€

From his beginnings in the Air Force Academy, Curtis looked up to the Thunderbirds, but never aspired to be one. His focus was on preparing for combat deployments. It wasnâ€™t until returning from a deployment he became interested in joining the Thunderbirds.

â€œI entered the Air Force at a time when our nation was at war,â€ Curtis said. â€œMy focus as an officer has always been preparing to be successful in combat ever since commissioning as a second lieutenant from the academy. I was very fortunate to serve in combat as a fighter pilot in Afghanistan in 2010, and again on very short notice over Libya in 2011.

â€œIt was not until returning home from war that I developed the desire to apply to the Thunderbirds. This call came from observing our Airmen perform the mission under extremely difficult situations in combat and being very successful at it. It is their story that I need to tell in a public forum, not my own. The Thunderbirds are a perfect vessel to do that.â€

Curtis has a lot to be thankful for and many people behind him inspiring him to do his best in all.

â€œI cannot take credit for becoming a Thunderbird all by myself, as it took support from the entire Luke team to earn a spot on the Thunderbirds,â€ he said. â€œThis is a chance that I have to say thanks to all of those who have made a great deal of effort to bring me to where I am today; to my grandfather who fought and flew in the Battle of Britain in WWII and my father who was killed in his Air Force aircraft shortly before I was born; to the crew chiefs and maintainers who have kept me safe in the F-16; and to my fellow Airmen and leadership who have shown me what it means to demonstrate valor in combat. From my brothers in arms whom I have served with all over the world, to the Airmen right here at Luke, I am forever thankful.â€

The Thunderbirds are built to inspire, Curtis said, and in that spirit he wants to also inspire those who have a dream. Be it the Thunderbirds or anything else an Airmen can aspire to, Curtis says with the right attitude it can be done.

Local Military Discounts

Pentagon Channel

Samuel Price The road used to get onto the Barry M. Goldwater Range lies beneath the running water July 9, 2014, that resulted from monsoon rains. With data from the additional recently installed weather stations, personnel wil...

Since I joined the Air Force in 1992, our manpower and resources have been gradually reduced with no obvious change to the mission we support. While this has been labeled “doing more with less,” I don’t believe we’re truly doing any more than we did when I entered the military 22 years ago. We seem...

Throughout my career, the importance of situational awareness has been driven into my head. This became exceedingly clear to me when I landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. It was March 17, 2003, about 48 hours until Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off. We were busy building tents, making bunkers and preparing to execute the mission. Doing...

QUANTICO, Va. — Child sex crimes are not unique to any particular base but are a perpetual problem across the Air Force and society. Online exploitation of children continues to be a problem and is routinely investigated by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. As part of this effort, AFOSI field units have partnered...

MDG appointment line upgrade Patients calling the 56th Medical Group at 623-856-2273 Wednesday afternoon to schedule an appointment may reach a busy signal and may have to call back if all booking agents are on the line with other callers. The queue function allowing patients to wait on hold for the next available booking agent...

Tech. Sgt. Alisa Frisch, 56th Medical Group unit training manager, and Capt. Sharlott Uriarte, 56th Medical Support Squadron, were among the top 3 percent of award-winning blood drive coordinators recently honored by United Blood Services, earning a Hero Award for providing the largest impact on the blood supply. Of the 1,080 organizations that sponsored blood...

Information

Publisher

The Thunderbolt is published by Aerotech News and Review, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
Contents of the Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.

Disclaimer

The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the DOD, the Department of the Air Force or Aerotech News and Review of the products or services advertised.
Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Public Affairs office of Luke AFB, Ariz. All photographs are Air Force photographs unless otherwise indicated.